Heart of a Storm Hawk
by T. F. Crosby
Summary: If they didn't believe such wisdom and compassion for a feared enemy would come from the mouth of an arrogant braggart like him, they'd be right. But it didn't, it came from his heart.


It's official. Storm Hawks has eaten my brain.

Yet another companion piece to Bonds of the Broken. I have no idea how many more there will be or how many other stories will come. I guess I just have to wait too.

**Heart Of A Storm Hawk**

"_If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life, sorrow and suffering, enough to disarm all hostilities."_

_--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow_

He sat alone atop a massive rock overlooking the sweeping plains of Terra…whatever. He wasn't sure which terra he was on, or even if it was charted at all. All he knew was that he was miles away from any sentient being and, for the moment, preferred it that way. He clutched a silver medallion (which was hanging around his neck on a silver chain) in one hand and held tightly to a photograph with the other.

His dark hair and clothing made him stand out against the yellows and tans that surrounded him. A sudden breeze caught his hair, making it dance with the yellow long-grass.

He let out a heavy sigh and smiled weakly at the photograph he held so tightly in his hand. In the photograph were two teenage boys with an arm around the other's shoulder. The dark-haired teen, who was grinning maniacally, was sticking a small, white crystal in the other teen's ear. That teen, a redhead, looked as if he was ready to shove the crystal he had into the dark-haired teen's mouth. He remembered that day vividly. They had accidentally (or so they said) set the carrier's kitchen on fire, and thus were banned from the kitchen (permanently); and the Condor; and the general area, until the rest of the squad had cleaned everything up. While _they_ should have been the one's to clean up, nobody wanted to run the risk of them setting the rest of the Condor on fire.

The two of them eventually ended up twenty clicks north of the Condor at an old crystal mine, finding the two small, white crystals lying on the ground at the mouth of the mine.

_'Let's take a picture,'_ he had said to the redhead, as he walked back over to the skimmer.

His leader only looked at him as he mounted a camera on the front of the skimmer.

_'How did you…? When did you…?'_

_'Just smile,'_ he replied, putting his arm around his Sky Knight's shoulder.

As the redhead did the same, he flashed a huge grin and stuck his crystal in his leader's ear.

The redhead grimaced. _'Get that out of my—' Click! 'I hate you.'_

The sound of a skimmer pulled him from his thoughts. (Okay, actually it was the shrieking that pulled him from his thoughts; but in any case….) He looked up to see a skimmer skid (on its side) to a halt ten feet away from him. A blond teenager sat up, rubbing his head and groaning.

"Ow….That was fun," the teen said. "Dumb. Painful. But fun."

As he stood up, brushing himself off, he locked eyes with the last person he expected to see. His face dropped and he gulped. _Aw, man. Of all people…._

Dark Ace grinned.

_Uh-oh_, Finn thought.

"Nice crash, Blondie," Dark Ace said. "I give it an eight." He paused. "I give the shriek a ten."

Finn grimaced. "Ha-ha."

The Talon commander returned his attention to the photograph while Finn looked around awkwardly. He wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to be so bold. He didn't have his squad mates with him and being unsure of how the man would react….

"So, uh, what are you doing out here?" Finn asked, casually; or as casually as he could. He was speaking to the Dark Ace after all.

"I needed some time to myself," Dark Ace replied, soberly.

"Oh. Well, then," Finn began, unsure of what to say. "I-I can leave…if you want me to."

"No, it's fine," the Talon replied. He wanted to continue, saying to the teen that he would appreciate his company; but he only returned his gaze to the photograph in his hand.

Finn watched him for a moment; and then, taking on a boldness he never had had before, he climbed up onto the rock and sat down next to the man he feared more than anything else. (Dark Ace glanced back at him but did nothing else.) A strange feeling was emerging from deep within him. He didn't understand it. All the fear he had felt prior to this moment had disappeared. He didn't know why.

He looked over at the photograph Dark Ace was holding. "Hey….Aerrow has a photo like that."

"It was his," Dark Ace replied. Finn assumed he was referring to the redheaded teen in the photograph.

"You guys were best friends, weren't you?" said Finn, empathetically.

"We were like brothers."

Finn looked out across the plains, watching the long-grass dance in the breeze. (His own hair had joined in on the dance.) Already feeling ashamed for what he was about to say, he said, "I always thought that you didn't care. That they and what you did meant nothing to you."

The blond braced himself for whatever attack the Dark Ace was going to exact upon him, but instead….

"That's how I wanted to feel. I didn't want to care. I wanted them to mean nothing to me." He looked at Finn. "It was like that for a while, but I guess I was just numb from kill—" He stopped short, trying to hold back his tears. He was tired of crying.

Finn felt horrible for bringing it up. He wished he could do, or at least, say something to help him; but that wasn't something that came easy to the teen; most of the time he'd end up tripping over his tongue and saying or doing something stupid. He sighed heavily. Wanting to ask Dark Ace a question; but a little scared to do so, he began to fidget.

"What's wrong with you?" Dark Ace asked.

Finn let out a puff of air. _Well, I am sitting next to him and I'm still alive and in one piece. So, here goes nothing_.

"Can I ask you something…personal?"

The man hesitated for a moment, and then said in short, "Sure."

"If you could talk to them, right now, what would you say?"

There was only silence. Finn began to think he wasn't going to get an answer, but as he started to turn his eyes away he heard,

"I'm sorry. Sorry for everything I've done. I never should have crossed that line. I wish I could take it all back. I'm sorry for the person I've become."

Finn was beginning to realize one thing about his arch enemy: he was trapped—trapped in a prison deep within himself. This man…this man who appeared to the world as heartless, as a man who cared for no one, allowed them only to see the clay mask that he had put on over ten years ago. No one saw the pain inside. He didn't want them to. Finn couldn't blame him, choosing to hide his pain. He had no idea what the Talon commander was going through. He wasn't there through the man's early life, his time with the Storm Hawks. He had no idea what it was like to be the Dark Ace. In some ways, he didn't want to know; but in others….

Finn didn't know why he said what he did next. It was as if someone else was saying those words; but regardless of who those words came from, they shocked them both.

"Why don't you just leave? Nobody's making you stay there. From what I've seen, you pretty much have free reign. So, what's keeping you there? And don't tell me it's because you pledged some kind of loyalty to Cyclonis 'cause I won't buy it."

The two stared at each other; Dark Ace out of shock and Finn….Finn was not only staring out of shock, but also out of fear. What was the Dark Ace going to do to him after saying all of that?

Dark Ace turned away. His hand, the one clutching the medallion, began to shake. He tried to speak, but no words could escape his lips. _What was happening to him? He shouldn't be like this. This wasn't him_.

"Don't go back there," said Finn. "Come back to the Condor with me."

Both of the man's hands began to shake. "I—I can't do that."

"Why not? I know it's not because of Cyclonis. Or any of the Talons." Finn looked at him. He was staring at the shaking photograph. "It's because of Aerrow, isn't it? He reminds you of him."

"It's not just Aerrow," said Dark Ace. "It's all of you."

Finn raised an eyebrow. "All of us?"

"All of you. You remind of the squadron I once had, the friends. The one's I destroyed for my own selfish benefit."

The blond replied in a barely audible voice, "Why is that stopping you? We know what you did and maybe we don't understand why, but that doesn't mean you can't…."

"Thanks for the offer, Finn. But it doesn't matter where I go. The darkness will follow."

Finn looked at him with a sober expression on his face. "The darkness?"

"It finally caught up with me that day," he continued, "and I embraced it."

"Then come with me," Finn urged.

"I can't escape it. Every time I find the smallest bit of light the darkness eats it before I can get to it. There's no way out."

"Don't say that!" Finn said forcefully. "There's always a way out!" He continued in a softer tone, "You just can't find it by yourself."

Dark Ace huffed in mock amusement. "Yeah, who's going to help me then?"

"I will! And so will Aerrow! And I don't care if you don't believe me!" replied Finn, a little louder and more forcefully than he had intended.

Dark Ace tried to speak, but Finn continued before he could say anything. "And don't give me that crap about how you betrayed and killed your old squad! I already know that!" Finn sighed heavily. "Your past doesn't matter. I don't care what anyone else says or thinks. You're not the evil, murderous Dark Ace that everyone knows you as. Yeah, I admit that's what I used to think…but unlike a lot of them, I never hated you."

Dark Ace looked away, unwilling to make eye-contact. A loud, piercing cry drew their attention to the sky. A large red-tailed hawk perched itself on a rock not far from them.

_That's weird_, Finn thought. _There aren't any hawks around—wait! That hawk…it has…._

"A red crest," Dark Ace breathed, finishing Finn's thought.

Remembering what Aerrow had told him, Finn said, "He forgives you. They forgive you. Why can't you accept that?"

"How can I accept their forgiveness when I can never forgive myself?"

"You don't have to and you don't need to. If the forgiveness of others relied on us forgiving ourselves first, we'd never be forgiven." Realizing the Dark Ace was refusing to look at him, Finn moved around the rock to sit directly in front of the Talon. "If you're looking for forgiveness from the whole of Atmos I doubt you'll get it. It's just the way people want to be." He grabbed hold of Dark Ace's hand, the one that held the photograph, stopping it from shaking. He looked at the photo and then back at the Talon. "But you have his; theirs….That should be enough."

Finn stared at the photograph, watching tears fall onto the faces of the two teens.

"What was the last thing he said to you?" Finn asked in a gentle tone.

Dark Ace choked back his tears. "Know that I forgive you." He paused. "But I couldn't believe him."

Finn looked up at him with a soft expression on his face. "That's because you weren't ready." He looked back at the photograph. "And he knew that. But he also knew that he had to say it then." Looking back at the hawk, he continued, "But you are now."

There was a moment of silence before Finn spoke again. "Forget about what other people think or say. All they can see is what's on the surface. It doesn't matter what's on the outside, it's what's on the inside. And I know that what's on the inside is completely different from what the world sees on the outside."

He let go of Dark Ace's hand as the man stood up. Wiping his eyes, he looked over at the hawk which had been perching in silence, as if in reverence, while Finn spoke. The hawk called out softly as Finn stood up.

"You probably won't believe me," Finn began, "But I know you're still a Storm Hawk at heart." Dark Ace dropped his hand, letting his arms drop to his sides. "You may not feel like you are," Finn continued, "but that doesn't mean it isn't true. There is something bigger than all of us, that knows the truth, that knows what's really in your heart. Even when you don't." He gave Dark Ace a genuine smile. "And there are some people out here that do, too."

No matter how hard he tried, Dark Ace couldn't hold it back. _A smile_. A big and genuine smile crossed his face. He turned to the blond teen. "Thank you, Finn."

The hawk, which had been perching on the rock so patiently, took to the air, soaring over their heads and calling out, eventually disappearing into the pristine blue sky.

"I don't know why," Finn said, "but something I was told when I was a little kid just popped into my head."

"And what's that?" asked Dark Ace, looking back at him.

"Angels show up in the strangest of places."

Dark Ace said nothing; he only looked back to the sky where the hawk had disappeared, contemplating what Finn had said.

Finn jumped off the rock and walked over to his ride. It was still lying on its side and the crossbow was slanted to the right. He sighed. Of course, it would give him an excuse to tinker with his ride. Not that Piper would buy it. As he pushed his ride up he noticed Dark Ace standing at his own ride.

Dark Ace laid his hand on the small, white crystal resting on his ride at the base of the handlebars. He closed his eyes, feeling the sun's warmth upon his face. Opening his eyes, he grabbed the crystal and walked towards Finn. Stopping halfway, he called out,

"Hey, Finn!"

The blond looked up at him. Dark Ace tossed the crystal to him and headed back to his own ride. Finn stared at the crystal. _This is the same…._

"Hey wait!" he called out, running over to the Talon commander. "Why are you giving me this?"

"Do you need a reason to give someone a gift?" he replied, sitting on his ride.

"Well, no, but….Isn't this the crystal…."

"Just take it, Finn," he said, warmly.

Finn stared at the crystal. "What kinda crystal is this, anyway?"

"Never did find that out," Dark Ace replied, soberly, starting his ride.

He looked back at Finn. The blond had a huge smile on his face. "If you need me, I'll be there….Always."

Dark Ace couldn't help smiling himself. "See ya around, kid," he said, as he hit the throttle and took to the air.

Finn watched the Dark Ace until he could no longer see him. _You're right, Aerrow. Maybe we have already won_.

_**fin**_

Who knows where the show will go; but for now, we can all throw out our own ideas, regardless of what they may be. Whether we may be as hot as a summer day in Yuma or as cold as a Canadian winter when it comes to our ideas of where the show will go or who we think the characters really are, it doesn't really matter. Right or not, who cares. If it did really matter, what would be the point in writing fanfiction, n'est-ce pas?

Random thought: Thinking back to "Age of Heroes" when Dark Ace saved Master Cyclonis' life makes me wonder if she would do the same for him.

Thanks for reading. Review if you want. (I don't always review, either, so I can't really say anything.)


End file.
